New teen driving rules sent to the governor

Wednesday

State legislators approved new regulations on teen drivers Wednesday, in an attempt to curb high accident and death rates.

W list below

By JEREMY PELZER

STATE CAPITOL BUREAU

State legislators approved new regulations on teen drivers Wednesday, in an attempt to curb high accident and death rates.

A spokesman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he will “look favorably” at signing Senate Bill 172, which unanimously passed the House Wednesday. The Senate passed the bill 54-2 in March.

The legislation, among other things, would triple the time a teen must hold a learner’s permit to nine months, the idea being that new drivers should learn how to handle different weather conditions.

Other provisions would impose an earlier driving curfew on motorists under 18 (with exemptions), eliminate exemptions that reduce the amount of required on-the-road driving time in driver’s education classes, and double to one year the period during which a new driver is barred from having more than one non-related teen passenger.

The bill also would create a ban on street racing.

The new rules, if signed into law, would take effect in January except for the on-the-road driving time provision, which would take effect in July 2008.

The reforms were drawn up by the Teen Driver Safety Task Force, created by Secretary of State Jesse White last August.

Traffic accidents are the No. 1 cause of death for 15-to-20-year-olds, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; during a 15-month period in Tazewell County in 2005 and 2006, 15 youths died in highway-related incidents.

White said at a press conference Wednesday that the new rules will both give teen drivers more experience before taking the wheel and crack down on leading causes of teen accidents, such as night driving and distractions.

“I get sick and tired of reading the papers, watching television and listening to the radio about the numbers of young drivers who are losing their lives on a regular basis on the roads of Illinois,” White said. “

Blagojevich spokesman Gerardo Cardenas said the governor’s policy team will do a standard review of the legislation, which usually takes one to two months, “but it’s the kind of initiative that we look favorably at because it increases protections for younger drivers.”

The General Assembly’s youngest member, Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, said that while he had some concerns about the driving-curfew provision, he voted for the bill because it would help protect not only teen drivers, but passengers and other motorists as well.

“There’s things in it that people aren’t going to like, and that maybe they think it goes too far or maybe it doesn’t do enough,” Schock said. “Certainly the bill’s not perfect, but I think we all recognize that the state needs to take additional precautions when issuing driver’s licenses to ensure that the drivers and parties around them are going to be safe.”

Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield, said he hopes the new rules will reduce the number of Illinois teens killed in vehicle crashes.

“I just think this is a way we can get more responsibility,” he said.

But at least one high schooler said tripling the permit phase to nine months unfairly punishes teens who are responsible enough already.

“They figure if we have more time with a permit, we’ll be used to it more,” said Melissa Randolph, a 14-year-old freshman at Southeast High School in Springfield. “But what about quick learners like me? I don’t do anything bad — why should I have to wait nine months?”

Voice editor Kelsea Gurski contributed to this report. Jeremy Pelzer can be reached at (217) 782-3095 or at jeremy.pelzer@sj-r.com.

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Senate Bill 172 provisions:

- Triple the length of time a teen must hold a learner’s permit before applying for a license, to nine months.

- Require a teen with a permit to drive conviction-free for nine months before becoming eligible for a restricted driver’s license. The teens then must drive conviction-free for six months and turn 18 before receiving an unrestricted license.

- Shift the existing driving curfew on 16-year-olds from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, and from midnight to 11 p.m. on weekends. Also, extend the driving curfew to include 17-year-olds.

- Double from six months to one year the period during which new 16-year-old drivers cannot have more than one passenger with them who is under 20.

- Require public high school driver’s education courses to offer at least six hours of street driving with a certified instructor and eliminate exemptions that reduce the minimum time.

- Require drivers under 18 who request court supervision for a traffic violation to appear in court along with a parent or guardian.

- Require 16- and 17-year-olds to drive conviction-free for six months before they can obtain unrestricted licenses.